The Golden Sunflower
by OnePieceDoesExist
Summary: "The sun WILL rise, and, when it does, we'll look up at the beautiful clear sky and know that the bonds we've forged won't ever be broken. We've come TOO far to back down. We've come to far to let the promises that we made with those left behind go unfulfilled. Because, no matter where we go, or how far apart we are, we'll always be NAKAMA." Fem!Luffy - Rating will change later.
1. Chapter 1

New Story! A its going to be a considerably long one!

(Dun, dun, dunnnn!)

Anyway, I've had this idea planned out entirely. For. Ever. Literally. Like so long that I don't even know anymore. I really would like to know what you guys think about this idea. It's basically going to follow Luffy's adventures so its not just in her childhood.

Just going to get this out there. It's not happening in this chapter, (minus some cursing,maybe) but these will be in the story. Warnings and Things for the entire story:

LuffyxLaw, MarcoxRobin, AcexOC, Fem!Luffy, OC's, AU, Slight OOC, Intense Violence, lots of Swearing, Rape, French, mention of rape, and Character Deaths (Don't worry I'm joking about the French.)

Bonjour...

Towards pairings, the ones above will be in the story though there may be some ZoroxTashigi or Zosan, UssopxKaya etc. teasing in there but as of yet haven't decided on any other pairings. If you guys have suggestions I'll consider them. Also romance isn't the main focus of the story, just saying.

Can you guys believe that, after scouring the Internet, I have yet to come across a single mention of a MarcoxRobin pairing?! Not one fanfiction or picture! Either I'm incredibly bad at searching or...

One more thing, any OC's in this story are probably not going to be important or a large part in the story except like... 2,... No, 3... 5? Somewhere around there.

Onto the story! Read and Review!

-(•)-

Why was is so dark again?

The little girl blinked her eyes and stared around the empty void.

Her small burning golden wings were essentially useless here, where she simply floated in the darkness.

Ironically it was so dark, here inside the sun...

But she was stuck here, all alone, for as long as she lived...

Well, she wasn't completely alone...

But her mother was gone so much for long periods of time that it was the same as if she didn't exist...

She missed her mom. She wished she would come home. She had been gone for a month this time.

The girls golden eyes scanned the vast, empty void. Her long, golden, and seemingly burning hair falling down to her ankles.

The dress she wore was similarly colored to the golden jewelry that adorned her body.

A small light breached the darkness as she tried to catch a glimpse of the world that lay far away. Her mother could make giant portals to anywhere she wanted, but right now the girl could only produce small windows to look through. Six moons orbited the planet she adorned and the oceans were split into four by a large expanse of rock and a dangerous sea. The girl loved to watch this world, though she knew little about it.

While her mother was away, this was all she could do. She learned the names of the big oceans were "North Blue, South Blue, East Blue" and "West Blue" and the lines that divided them were the "Red Line" and the "Grand Line".

She watched the marines and pirates fight. The marines were suppose to be good guys and the pirates were bad, but her mother always said that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, though the little girl had only had her mother read her books before, and that you should know someone before labeling them with titles.

She envied her mom, who often went down to that planet for reasons she never told her daughter. She wasn't even allowed to go the the moonians and play with anyone there. It wasn't fair. They were suppose to be close descendants, right?

As the girl was lost in her thoughts, staring off at a dream world that was billions of miles away, another bright light, one accompanied with the sound of waves and the screech of seagulls, the cries of goodbye from men drilled for life on the sea, the smell of salt water and sweat and the thumping of boots on deck, shined in the dark void and a woman stepped through, the sights, sounds, and smells promptly vanishing soon after.

The little girl was jolted from her daydreams when she noticed the woman's presence. Her smile grew impossibly wide and she flew over to the woman. "Momma!"

The lady caught the three year old child in her arms and twirled her around. "How's my baby been?" She asked, wrapping her arms and far larger wings around the child.

"It's so boring when you're not here, but now that you're home everything's better!" She squeezed her mother just a little bit tighter s she spoke. "Ooh can you make the thing-umm the whatsitcalled-Ah! Bedroom?!" She looked up at the woman with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"Oh course." The mother closed her eyes and suddenly a wooden flooring grew from the dark. The two no longer floated as a gravity pulled them towards the flat surface. The wood expanded out, forming walls and a roof. Next a table, bed, bookcase, and two chairs sprouted up from the floor. A window popped out as sheets and pillows spread themselves out on top the mattress and books slid themselves in the bookcase.

The little girl immediately ran to the window and pushed the translucent white curtains to the side before sliding the window up to peer out. A large field of sunflowers stretched before her and the sun shined brightly up above.

'I like the sun from the outside so much better and those flowers-sunflowers something or another were they called-look like it so much. I wish we had some in here...' She thought as a cool breeze blew across the field.

She felt strong arms pull her back inside and only then realized she'd almost fallen out of the window. "Oops..." She said rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"I've told you how dangerous the human world is." She crouched down to her daughters eye level. "You need to be more careful not to accidentally fall in."

"Yes mommy."

The two played various games, and the mother read many books to the little girl until she fell asleep. She made the room dissipate and planted a kiss on her sleeping child's forehead. "See you soon, I promise."

She opened a portal, breathed in the familiar scent of salt water, and smiled. She stepped through as she heard her daughter cry out.

She felt a faint push against the back of her legs as the portal closed behind and terror struck her. "M-mommy? "

She turned around to face her slightly terrified, slightly excited daughter and scooped her into her arms. The little girl no longer was decorated with pure gold. Her hair was pitch black and her eyes were an amber color. She had a simple navy blue dress and black flip flops on."Oh my little girl, what trouble you've made..." She sighed and began walking towards the bar. 'Stay positive, it could be worse, you could be in the council room right now...' She thought to herself, calming down once she reached the bar's front door.

The door jingled as she entered and the woman behind the counter looked up in surprise. She had a short, black bob cut. She wore a simple pairs of jeans and t-shirt with the logo of some store on it.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise! I haven't seen ya in a while. If you're looking for Ray-San, he'll be back from shopping soon, Taiyou-sa-" She looked at the little bundle in the woman's arms. "Oh? And who is this little cutie? She your daughter right? A little more plain and less 'gold' than I imagined her, but she does look a lot like her father." The bartender crossed her arms and leaned in. "So what's the name, darlin?"

The little girl poked her head out and proudly declared. "Luffy."

Luffy dug into the plate of food in front of her. She'd never eaten before, never needed to, but now that she was down here and in this... form, she fell upon the meat like a ravage beast. The bartender-Shakky was her name-laughed at the sauce covered princess.

"You sure don't have the manners of royalty, Luffy-chan!" Shakky said in between chuckles before passing her a washcloth to clean her face.

"Royalty? Anyway, thank you for the food Shakky-San! It was the best thing I've ever tasted!" Luffy burst out, giving her an impossibly wide grin.

Shakky chuckled before replying, "I'm sure it's the only thing you've ever tasted!" She proceeded to clean up the dishes as Luffy scrambled around the room, observing every little thing, her eyes sparkling. She'd gotten over her change in appearance surprisingly fast and had made it a point to check out everything that she could.

"So, what brings ya here, Taiyou-San? And don't worry, while she's here nobody will hurt her." Shakky asked, eying the woman's motherly instinct begin to take over.

Taiyou slid her worried gaze away from the playing toddler. "I just came to see 'Ray-San', if that's what he goes by these days..."

"You called?" A rough, yet gentle voice called from behind them. Taiyou turned on the stool she sat at as the door clacked shut. There stood a tall, old man. He had silver hair with streaks of its former color sprinkled in that went to just below his shoulders and a short beard. Glasses adorned his face, though given his reputation, some would wonder if he really needed them. Wrapped in a light grey cloak with similarly plain clothes, he held onto many large bags filled to the brim with supplies.

"Ah, here Shakky-San!" He said, calmly setting the bags on the counter before turning to Taiyou. "It's been a while, Taiyou-chan!"

He walked up to her and ruffled her hair, smiling, though it was made slightly awkward as she was somewhat taller than him. Her eyebrow made the slightest twitch and she gently grabbed his hand. "Please don't call me that, Rayleigh-San. I'm not a child anymore."

"Hahahaha! While your body may have changed I see your attitude hasn't!" He quieted down before asking, "I can't see you coming to see how I'm aging, so what's on your mind?"

Her demeanor changed. She glanced over at the little girl who was now staring out of the window with wide eyes. Rayleigh caught her glance. "I need a safe place. One hidden from... them."

"It'll bring her more trouble if she stays with me..." The Dark Knight replied, shuffling through the cabinets in search of sake.

Taiyou closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "Is that your answer, Rayleigh-San?"

The man cringed unnoticeably at the formal name. Sometimes seeing her like this nearly broke his already scarred heart. "I'm afraid so..."

She looked towards him, her face placid. "I see..." She glided over towards the little girl and scooped her up. "I'll be off then."

She opened another portal, the smell of salty air penetrating the saucy scent of the bar. "Bye-Bye Shakky-chan, Ray-San!" Luffy called, waving over her mother's back as the gateway opened.

-(-)-(-)-

Life aboard the ship had been like any other day on the ship. Men cleaning and cooking like usual, the navigators plotting their course, and their captain drinking in his chair on deck. Then a rip in the air opened up and a tall, majestic woman carrying a small, waving child in her arms stepped through. And Marco's idea that he would finally get some peace and quiet came to an end.

Luffy stopped waving and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. She squirmed in her mother's grasp until she was let down and immediately ran towards the railing at the side of the ship, staring at the crashing waves that lapped onto the horizon. Her eyes sparkled and her mouth was wide open. A blush spread across her face as she whispered, "This is the first time that I've seen it with my own eyes! It's so much more beautiful than I ever thought it would be..."

Taiyou looked on and felt her heart give a sharp pang, hazy memories flitting through her mind. She smiled at the memories of what that felt like before turning away from Luffy.

She spotted Marco and he waved at her. She gave a polite smile and nod of the head back before heading towards the giant man who was drinking and holding a giant bisento.

He turned his head towards her and grinned. "It's been awhile, Taiyou!" He took a swig of sake from the giant container he held before offering it to her. "Want some?"

She gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head. "Checheche, I'm not very good with alcohol, you know that Oyaji!"

"Finally decided to start acting normal, brat?" He chuckled as he gulped down more sake, noticing how uptight she'd been as soon as she appeared on deck. "Care to tell me the reason behind your sudden visit?"

At this she stopped chuckling and her face went blank. "I'm sorry for my strange behaivor..." She shook her head back in forth as if to rid herself of the silly personality she showed moments ago. "I've already asked Rayliegh-San and he declined my offer. I can no longer keep control, so I'm turning to you for help next." At the mention of the man who could be no other than "Dark Knight" Rayliegh, the pirates atop the ship all turned to look, Marco moving to Whitebeard's side.

She ignored it and kept talking. "They're really brilliant, the people in the council. They can travel across worlds in an instant, talk with people who are galaxies away if they wanted to, and now have the power to be able to enter the sun. Can you believe that those in the Fire Nation have developed their abilities that far?" She gave a glance at her daughter. "It's not safe there, Newgate-San. I won't be able to, no I physically can't hurt them..."

Her unemotional mask twitch slightly. "I can't protect Luffy anymore..."

"Gurarararara! If not you then who? Me? What makes you think that I can beat whatever weapons they've made up there? Probably have something equal to the ancient weapons if I were to guess."

"No, they haven't developed their weaponry since the First War. It was forbidden by the council and is not much more sophisticated than yours..."

Whitebeard sat in silence, thinking as she stared at him with a blank face. He opened his mouth to speak when Marco dashed in front of him and raced to the side of the ship.

Just as she was about to fall, Marco caught Luffy's arm before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her up. "Jeez. Be more careful, yoi!"

Luffy turned her head towards the man carrying her and reached up to grab his hair. "Thank you, yoi! Shishishi! Yoi, yoi, yoi!" Marco's eyebrow twitched violently as she looked over at her mom then the giant man beside her. "H-Huge! It's a giant-ossan!"

Whitebeard chuckled at the little girls reaction and even more so when she squirmed from Marco's grasp and climbed into his lap. "Aren't you afraid, brat? I'm a pirate, ya know?"

"Oh~? So this is a pirate ship! That's so cool!" She looked up at Whitebeard before cocking her head to the left. "Are you strong?"

Whitebeard laughed. "Of course, everyone on this ship is!"

"Eeeeh?! Even Pineapple-ossan?!" Whitebeard stopped laughing. Everyone on deck stopped and looked towards Luffy in silence, wondering if they heard correctly.

Thatch hunched over, his body rocking before bursting out laughing, falling backwards. "Ahahahaha! Ah-sh-Ahahaha she's spo-ah-spot on, Marco! Ahahaha! How did I never notice until now!" Soon everyone joined in, all throwing in their own fruit and bird jokes(the reason for those Luffy didn't know,) and even Whitebeard chuckled.

"Shishishi! You guys are funny!" Luffy said as she turned towards the man who's knee she was currently perched on. "Can I explore?! Pretty please!"

Whitebeard gave into the little girls pleading and turned back towards the woman before him, who was getting over a small laughing fit of her own, tears in her eyes. "See, ya can show emotion if you try, Taiyou."

She wiped a tear from her eye and gave him a sad smile. "I can't afford to, Oyaji. I- I can't let them hurt her." She looked towards the floorboards, her wings twitching in agitation. "It wasnt in the plan to bring her with me, but she decided to sneak along..." Her demeanor changed and it made all the Whitebeard Pirates sad to see her like that. "They will kill her, Newgate-San. Please."

Whitebeard watched as Luffy came running from inside the ship, yelling something about a big monster coming to get her, his giant white dog chasing her. He chuckled. "Luffy, eh?"

-(-)-(-)-

Done! By the time I post this I believe that I'll have already finished a few more chapters ahead of this one because I have this strong desire to post this entire story regardless if anybody will reads it or not.

Also, while I have the next few chapters typed up, I'm not going to posting anymore chapters until I've solidified my entire plot. Because, there are still some things that I'm deciding between and messing with and don't want to have to go back and edit them and leave all ya readers who read the original chapter confused.

Please don't forget to review, it keeps the French disclaimer at the top of the page a lie!

Until then my dumplings,

OnePieceDoesExist


	2. Chapter 2

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

"Marco."

"Yeah, Oyaji?"

"Watch the brat."

"Wha-" Marco sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes, Oyaji..."

Not a moment later, a loud splash was heard from across the deck.

"OI! The kid fell in!" A Maki, the unfortunate crew member to be on watch at the moment, yelled from the crows nest.

"Someone fish her out. Taiyou-chan will kill us if she drowns, yoi!"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

"Geez, what were you thinking, yoi?" Marco lectured, drying off the little girls hair with a towel. "You can't even swim properly!"

"That was my first time!" Luffy replied gleefully, raising her arms into the air.

"Huh?" Marco looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Being in the ocean! It was fun, but a little to salty..." She replied, sticking out her tongue and wiggling her head for emphasis.

Marco chuckled and put the towel in a clothes bin. "You shouldn't do that Luffy."

"I don't know if its something I should or shouldn't do, but I've never seen the world before and, whether it be good or bad, I want to learn and experience everything!" She lay back on the table Marco had been drying her off on, picking at the itchy clothes that she'd had to change into. They were hastily put together because proper clothing hadn't been made for her yet. "Cause momma said that someday I would have to do something important, something that required me to be better than everyone else, so I wanna be ready for that day so I don't let her down!"

Marco stood astonished that those words were coming from such a small child's mouth but was cut off before he could reply. "Hey, bird-brain!" He felt his eyebrow begin to twitch and a headache set in immediately.

"Thatch what do you want, yoi?"

"Just came to tell you breakfast was ready, geez..." Thatch replied in a mock hurt tone. "But you should totally help me with this prank I'm planning!"

"No."

Luffy walked towards Thatch and tugged on his pant leg. "What's a prank? Can I help?"

"Of course!"

"No, yoi."

"Aw! Don't be such a hard ass Marco!"

"It's bad enough that there's one of you running around. I'd rather there not be a smaller one that we can't even punish for doing anything, yoi."

"Yeah, yeah, fine." He said, turning and putting his hands in his pockets. "Just go get some breakfast will you?"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

After leading Luffy to the mess hall and getting their food, Marco sat them down at the table. Thankfully, but also worryingly, Thatch sat himself at the other end of the table. Marco sat at the end of the opposing side with Luffy to his left and Namur on her other side. Across from them was Maki, Haruta, and Juzo in that order.

Luffy immediately dug into the syrupy goodness, muttering a muffled "thank you" in the process.

Jozu whistled as he looked at the swiftness with which she ate. "You'd think she'd never eaten anything in her entire life!"

"Bis is ba sepon mweal ibe ad!" Luffy yelled through a full mouth.

"Swallow then talk." Marco instructed, eyes closed.

She followed. "I said this is the second meal I've ate, ever! So, I want to remember it, and to do that I have to eat a lot!" She began eating again.

Jozu looked surprised for a moment before smiling. "Just make sure you don't choke, Kay?"

"Mm!" She nodded before making a hacking sound and turning blue.

"What did he just say, yoi?!"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Being the strongest person that regularly slacked off on the ship, Thatch agreed to watch the brat until Izuo came back from shopping, seeing as Marco was on his wits end.

Marco was reluctant to let him watch over the kid after his previous prank comments, but relented. He would come to regret this decision.

Thatch held Luffy's hand and led her to his quarters, holding down giggles that would put a schoolgirl to shame.

"Welcome to-" he opened the door. "My Lair!" He flourished his hands in an overdramatic manner, then deflated slightly as she looked up at him confused.

Luffy looked around at all the little things that were spread across the floor. She walked up to a little spiked object. "What's this?"

"A tac." He replied taking the sharp thing from her little hands. "I'm gonna use it in a prank, but not the one were about to do!" And the giggling ensued.

"But, didn't Pineapple say not to?"

"That's just cause he doesn't like surprises!"

"Surprises?!"

"Yup, come on I'll show you how this is going to work..."

After nearly a half hour of preparing, Thatch was satisfied. Personally he thought that he'd outdone himself with this one. 'Marco is gonna be pissed!' He thought, closing the final fake wall he had been putting up while Luffy had been redirecting people from entering this section of the ship. 'Scrath that, all the commanders are going to be pissed!'

It wasn't long after the two had vacated the area that people started bumping into walls.

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Marco was walking down the stairs to get to his quarters. He'd heard people complaining about hurting noses and was met with his own when he turned left, out of instinct, down a hallway that no longer existed.

"What the he-" the stack of papers he was carrying fell to the floor.

Marco bended down and picked up the papers, looking at the wall he'd ran into.

'I swear there was a hallway here...' He shook his head and continued down the hall. 'Must not be my day.' He turned and again face met hardwood.

Marco managed to not lose his papers this time, but was irritated. "What the hell..."

"What's wrong pineapple?" Marco turned to see Luffy smiling up at him.

"I see you've ran into a few walls yourself." Marco said chuckling, flicking the bandaid Luffy now sported on her nose. 'Though its probably not for the same reason as us...'

Luffy rubbed the bandaid on the bridge of her nose and giggled before running outside.

Marco walked down the hallway, taking four lefts and finding no other routes along the way, before ending up at the entrance again. 'Should have known...'

"Thatch!"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Thatch could barely keep his cool under Marco's scrutinizing glare, save for the fact that he was dying on the inside after seeing the redness of his nose.

"What you want, pineapple-taichou?" Thatch asked grinning, his arms folded behind his head as though he was about to take a nap.

Marco gave him a pointed look, followed by him pointing towards the hall that led to the commanders rooms. "Explain. Now."

"I don't know what your talking about! Really!" Thatch replied, waving his arms back and forth when Marco's glared deepened.

He sighed. "Fine, I didn't want to do it this way but..." Marco walked down the hall towards the spot where he ran into the wall. "I hope the shipwrights forgive me for this one..." He pulled his fist back and punched straight through it. "Let's see..."

Marco peered through the new peep hole and, sure enough, he found a hidden hallway. He sighed again. "How in hell did you manage to get the supplies for this, let alone the time to-" A certain little girl that the entire crew was currently enamored with flashed in his mind. "Why do I even bother, yoi..."

He moved a little further down the hall and punched through again. "Oops, it's someone's room." He turned towards where the other commanders were gathering outside. "If someone has a hole in the side of their room, I'm sorry, yoi!"

"OI! That's my room!" Thatch yelled, looking at the damage.

"Oh, then I'm not sorry." Marco said, dusting off his wood covered hand.

Thatch gaped as Marco ripped through the rest of the fake walls and the shipwrights reclaimed their supplies.

Luffy walked up to the brain dead commander and tugged on his pant leg. "Did we win?"

This knocked Thatch out of his stupor and he motioned to the camera den den mushi in his pocket. "I'd say it was a pretty good day! Other than the fact that Marco doesn't know how to have fun..."

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Thatch pulled out the incredibly thick book, which sat among a huge group of them. "This is our family photo album! Or at least the newest one. These-" he pointed to the neatly stacked books. "Are ones that we've already filled!"

He flipped to the middle of the book where a half-filled page lay and inserted some pictures. 'Pictures of Izuo, Jozu, and most importantly Marco running into walls?! They'll never live this down!' He snickered at that thought and the fact that Luffy was gawking at the pictures of Marco's full transformation he was able to get a little while back.

"Pretty... Thatchy! What is that?!" She said excitedly, nearly jumping up and down.

Thatch perked up at the new nickname then laughed at her expression and pat her head. "That's Marco."

"Eh?! Pineapple?!"

"Yup, I'm sure that if you ask enough he'll show you."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. In fact, he may even give you a ride!"

Just before Luffy could race off to ask, she was pulled into a hug from behind. "I'm back, dumpling!"

Luffy turned and stared with a confused expression. "Who're you?"

"Izuo, one of the commanders."

"So your the lady Whitebeard told me to stay next to."

"Yup. Wait, no I'm a man!"

"But I wanted to ask Pineapple for a ride!"

"I can give you a piggyback ride too, ya know." Izuo recovered, trying to convince her to leave the poor first division commander alone.

"You can change into a giant blue birdy too?!"

"Ah, no sorry. But," Izuo added seeing Luffy's pout forming. "I'll show you around the ship and answer all your questions!"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

"What's that?"

"A mop."

"What does it do?"

"You use it to clean the floor or deck."

"What about this?"

"That's a bucket. You use I-Dont put it on your head!"

"Shishishi! Looky now I have a hat!"

"Put that down, it's dirty."

"Ok Izuo!"

Izuo was at his wits end. Their newest addition to the family-technically they were more bodyguards than brothers-had taken it unto herself, today of all days, to learn what everything on the Moby Dick was and what it did, though Izuo had to admit it was partially his fault for suggesting something along the lines, but he didn't expect her to ask about every little thing. Why he said he'd watch her today was incomprehensible to him now.

"Izuo! Izuo!"

Her voice snapped him out of his self-pity. Izuo crouched down to her eye level. "What is it, sweetie?"

"What's that stuff all over your face?"

"Oh you mean my makeup?"

"Yeah that weird white stuff and the red stuff on your lips! What does it do?"

"Hmm..." Izuo took a moment to debate his next move. Truth be told, Izuo wasn't one to fall for the puppy eyes trick, and not much would make him even think the word 'cute', but the little girl in front of him was the exception. What he wouldn't give to gi-

He stopped mid thought and smiled. "Luffy, want me to show you?"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

"Izuo! Luffy! Where are you?!" As usual, Marco was tasked with dealing with any problems aboard the ship and was currently searching for the duo, who hadn't been seen for a while.

Marco circled the ship until he came to Izuo's room and knocked. "Hey, you in there? If you don't get out your gonna miss din-" the door opened and Marco faulted.

"-ner..."

Standing in front of Izuo was Luffy. Her plain dress was replaced by a Kio fish-patterned kimono, with sandals to match. Her already long lashes were made even more prominent by mascara and light golden eyeshadow and pink blush were brushed on. The top layers of her floor length hair was wrapped into a bun with chopsticks holding it in as the rest hung below.

"Pine-"

"Marco." Marco interrupted, the initial surprise passing by.

"But pineapple is much more fu-"

"Marco."

"Hai, hard ass..."

Izuo and Marco snapped their heads towards the little girl who now had her arms crossed, facing away from them and was pouting. A tick mark appeared on Izuo's face and walked over and pinched her cheek.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"I make you look adorable and the first thing you do when I'm done is ruin it by cursing at someone."

"Bwut wou guys Bo it bawl bhe pime!" Luffy complain. (But you guys do it all the time!)

"Yes, and we're pirates. Your our little si- Anyway your not a pirate so you can't cuss!" Izuo shot back, insensibly mad at the language she'd picked up that he almost let the word 'sister' slip from his mouth.

"Hahaha! Geez, sometimes you even beat Marco, Izuo!" Thatch said, appearing from around the corner like usual.

"Thatchy!" Luffy wriggled from Izuo's grasp(she seemed to be doing a lot of that,) and ran towards Thatch. He crouched down as she came and hugged him.

Rubbing her head he turned to his brothers. "Why the faces?" Both Whitebeard commanders held exasperated expressions.

"Every time we try to teach her something, you come and screw it up." Izuo stated.

Thatch looked puzzled for a moment before whispering something in Luffy's ear. "Yeah! Lets go make food for Whitebeard!" She replied.

Thatch stood to walk with her, but turned pouting. "You guys are such hypocrites..." Marco had to hold back Izuo, lest he slay his brother, as Thatch walked towards the kitchens with Luffy.

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

"You know he's right." Marco said joining Izuo in walking along the deck. "And you know how much it pains me to say it, yoi."

"Yeah, yeah. It's just been so long since I've had anyone that I needed to protect, so I guess I don't know what to do..." Izuo replied, frowning slightly.

Marco chuckled. "Don't frown, it ruins your pretty face!" He said jokingly.

"Is that all I am to you?!" Izuo shot back with a spark in his eyes, regaining some of his normal composure.

"Of course not! Your I-" Marco began, a slight smirk at their jesting coming to his face.

"Marco!" A blur of black tackled him to the ground, cutting off what he was about to say.

Marco grabbed the bundle that had flung itself on him. "What's wrong, Luffy?"

"Thatchy started doing that thing again!" She yelled, looking scared.

"What thing, yoi?"

"Come look! I think something's wrong with him!" She hammered, pulling Marco along.

Izuo and Marco shared a confused look and followed behind.

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

When they got to the kitchen all they saw was Thatch, standing in the kitchen cooking. "He's just cooking, yoi."

"No, wait!"

Thatch started singing Bink's Sake and Luffy popped back behind Marco. "See?!"

Izuo was surprised before he burst out laughing. "That's called music, or more precisely, singing, dumpling!"

"Music? Singing?"

"Yeah, though that's a poor example cause he's singing off key!" Izuo replied, raising his voice on the 'off key' part so Thatch could hear. Ignoring Thatch's 'I wasn't really trying!' In the background, they continued their conversation.

"Off key?"

Marco chuckled at Luffy's curiosity. "You'll just have to see after dinner..."

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Throughout dinner Luffy couldn't help but fidget, worried about what this Music was. 'Ive only seen tiny pieces of the world cause my abilities aren't as good as momma's... Is this music dangerous?' This didn't stop her from eating her portion and then some when the cooks finally set the food out.

During her last piece of chicken, she heard a strange sound coming from near Whitebeard's chair. She clambered down from the stool she sat on and ran outside towards where it came from.

Seven of the crew sat on little stools opposite Whitebeard. One had a silver pole-like object pressed to their lips that was emitting a high pitched sound. Two had guitar-like objects(she thinks that's what Blamenco called that thing hanging up in his quarters) pressed against their chins and had thin stalks of wood zipping across, producing a sound that reminded her of her mother's humming when she was trying to get her to sleep. Another was pounding on a bucket-like object, producing a banging sound. One more held what looked like a golden pipe that expanded at the end. He was making a loud, slightly obnoxious sound that somehow fitted with the other sounds. The final two crew members, a man and a woman, were doing the same thing as Thatch, though they sounded pleasant.

"Don't let go!" The man sang.

"No Ill never let go!" The woman's voice overlapped his slightly and Luffy couldn't help the smile that came over her. Marco stepped up behind her and smiled at the look on her face.

"Music..." She whispered in awe. The smile ripped across her face and split it in two before she dragged Marco in the middle of the deck and started dancing.

Whitebeard watched as his newest chi-the one he was suppose to guard- pulled his oldest child into a dance. He couldn't help but laugh at the rarely seen surprised look that crossed Marco's face. Others joined into the dancing, pairing off with their brothers and sisters.

When the song ended, Marco politly tried to walk away, but Luffy pulled on his arm. "Maco, I want another dance, pretty please?!"

He sighed, wondering if the mispronunciation was a nickname or not, and crouched down to her level. "Sorry Lu, I cant, yoi." Not noticing his own nickname as it slipped off his tongue.

"Why?"

"Well, I have to talk to Oyaji about something." He replied, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Do you have to Maco?" She groaned, looking slightly deflated. Yeah, definitely a nickname.

"Yeah, it's important, yoi."

She puffed out her cheeks, but let go of his pant leg. "Fine."

"Thank you."

After finally managing to wiggle his way out of Luffy's grip, Marco made his way towards Whitebeard. "That girl's a handful..."

As if on cue she bounded over towards the duo. "Oyaji, will you dance with me? Pretty please?! Everyone else has a partner." Marco had to give it up to the old man when he declined, it was impressive that he could resist the puppy eyes she dished out.

The two stood in silence, watching her wander around the deck, asking people to dance and succeeding in every attempt. It was only then that they noticed that she called Whitebeard Oyaji, but they didn't point it out. Instead, Marco glanced over at his father and chuckled. "You have the look again, yoi."

"Gurararara! You noticed?" The giant man replied, taking a swish of sake.

Marco gave him a small smile. "It's my job, and the fact that I've been seeing it all over the ship today doesn't help your case."

Whitebeard chuckled, raising the sake to his mouth. "I guess the brat's not their child in name only..." He took another mouthful of the beverage as the song ended.

Marco hummed in agreement before flicking a coin in the air. Whitebeard caught it and gave him a questioning glance. "It's a bet, yoi. That by the end of the day, you'll give in. If I win, you give that back." Whitebeard just laughed and gripped the coin, effectively accepting his bet.

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Maki and Haruta laughed as Izuo fell to the ground exhausted, practically crawling to his quarters, after dancing with Luffy for ten songs straight, the musicians surprised by her stamina as she was already rushing away. Though she seemed to be getting bored just dancing to the music and walked towards the musicians. "Can I try?"

The trumpet player looked amused as Luffy tried to buzz her lips in the instrument. When she finally made a sound, everyone covered their ears. "Here try this..." The trumpeter suggested, fixing her positioning and the way she held the instrument.

The others watched in amusement as he had to repeatedly tell her to do something before she got it right. When she produced a clear sound they clapped and she moved on to the next instrument.

"Huh? Where are your instruments?" Luffy asked when she got to the singers. "You were making a really pretty sound!"

The man and woman laughed. "We used our voices, Luffy-chan." The scarlet haired songstress explained.

"Really? That's how mommy does it?! Auuugh!" She flopped back onto the deck and immediately regretted the decision when she bolted up, clutching her pounding head. "Owowowow..."

"What do you mean your mom, Luffy-chan?" The long, black haired singer asked.

"Owow- Well mom always used to hum, though I didn't know that music accompanied it..." The little girl explained. "Speaking of mom, when'll she be back?"

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

Marco finished tucking Luffy in and looked at the little girl's placid face, smiling. 'I probably had the look too. More than anyone here, even pops!'

He fished around in his pocket and grabbed the coin, placing in on his dresser.

-(The Golden Sunflower)-

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review!

Luffy: What's a review?

Author:...Not me too...IZUO!

Until next time,

One Piece Does Exist


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